1981–82 Washington Bullets season

The 1981–82 NBA season was the Bullets’ 21st season in the NBA and their ninth in the city of Washington, D.C.^[1] This for first since 1967–68 season Wes Unseld was not on the opening day roster. The Bullets finished 43–39 and won their first playoff round against the New Jersey Nets. They lost the semifinals to a powerful Boston Celtic outfit and their Nets win would prove their last playoff series win until 2004–05 against the Chicago Bulls.

1981–82 Washington Bullets season
Head coach	Gene Shue
General manager	Bob Ferry
Owner(s)	Abe Pollin
Arena	Capital Centre
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Celtics 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WDCA
Radio	WTOP
< 1980–81 1982–83 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1981 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	11	Frank Johnson	PG	United States	Wake Forest
2	35	Charles Davis	SF	United States	Vanderbilt
2	41	Claude Gregory	PF	United States	Wisconsin
2	44	Steve Lingenfelter	PF	United States	South Dakota State
3	48	Mike Ferrara		United States	Colgate
4	79	Ron Davis		United States	Arizona
5	103	Garry Witts		United States	Holy Cross
6	125	Robert Williams		United States	Grambling State
7	149	Randy Martel		United States	Houston Baptist
8	170	Mike Howard		United States	Wofford
9	193	Eddie Brown		United States	Valdosta State
10	212	Ralton Way		United States	Houston Baptist

Roster

1981–82 Washington Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 42 Greg Ballard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon C 9 Jim Chones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Marquette G/F 22 Don Collins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Washington State SF 23 Charles Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Vanderbilt F 35 Kevin Grevey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Kentucky PF 24 Spencer Haywood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Detroit Mercy PG 15 Frank Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Wake Forest G 5 John Lucas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Maryland PF 44 Rick Mahorn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Hampton PG 1 Kevin Porter 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Saint Francis (PA) C 43 Jeff Ruland 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Iona G 12 Carlos Terry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Winston-Salem State F 20 Garry Witts 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Holy Cross

Head coach Gene Shue Assistant(s) Bernie Bickerstaff Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–	35–6	28–13	20–4
x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5.0	32–9	26–15	16–8
x-New Jersey Nets	44	38	.537	19.0	25–16	19–22	12–12
x-Washington Bullets	43	39	.524	20.0	22–19	21–20	7–17
New York Knicks	33	49	.402	30.0	19–22	14–27	5–19

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	55	27	.671	8
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	58	24	.707	5
4	x-New Jersey Nets	44	38	.537	19
5	x-Washington Bullets	43	39	.524	20
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	42	40	.512	21
7	Detroit Pistons	39	43	.476	24
8	Indiana Pacers	35	47	.427	28
9	Chicago Bulls	34	48	.415	29
10	New York Knicks	33	49	.402	30
11	Cleveland Cavaliers	15	67	.183	48

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Regular season

1981–82 game log Total: 43–39 (home: 22–19; road: 21–20)
October: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 30 @ Boston L 100–124 Boston Garden 0–1
November: 4–9 (home: 3–5; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 3 Philadelphia L 99–112 Capital Centre 0–2 3 November 5 @ Milwaukee L 90–98 MECCA Arena 0–3 4 November 6 Detroit W 86–82 Capital Centre 1–3 5 November 10 Boston L 84–90 Capital Centre 1–4 6 November 12 @ Atlanta W 95–87 The Omni 2–4 7 November 14 Chicago W 104–99 Capital Centre 3–4 8 November 17 Milwaukee L 95–99 Capital Centre 3–5 9 November 19 @ Detroit L 97–122 Pontiac Silverdome 3–6 10 November 20 Houston L 94–95 Capital Centre 3–7 11 November 21 @ Chicago L 105–117 Chicago Stadium 3–8 12 November 24 Golden State W 107–88 Capital Centre 4–8 13 November 27 @ Boston L 100–113 Boston Garden 4–9 14 November 28 Indiana L 90–92 Capital Centre 4–10
December: 8–7 (home: 3–3; road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 December 1 San Antonio L 99–110 Capital Centre 4–11 16 December 3 @ New York W 114–88 Madison Square Garden 5–11 17 December 5 Cleveland W 94–87 Capital Centre 6–11 18 December 8 @ Los Angeles L 98–102 The Forum 6–12 19 December 11 @ San Diego W 106–102 San Diego Sports Arena 7–12 20 December 12 @ Phoenix W 105–98 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8–12 21 December 15 Dallas L 102–107 Capital Centre 8–13 22 December 16 @ Cleveland W 106–102 Richfield Coliseum 9–13 23 December 18 Boston L 98–99 Capital Centre 9–14 24 December 22 @ Chicago L 90–92 Chicago Stadium 9–15 25 December 25 Indiana W 115–98 Capital Centre 10–15 26 December 26 @ New Jersey W 105–90 Brendan Byrne Arena 11–15 27 December 29 Detroit W 129–125 Capital Centre 12–15 28 December 30 @ Milwaukee L 103–107 MECCA Arena 12–16
January: 10–4 (home: 5–3; road: 5–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 29 January 2 @ Indiana W 107–103 Market Square Arena 13–16 30 January 5 New Jersey L 108–114 Capital Centre 13–17 31 January 6 @ Philadelphia L 112–116 The Spectrum 13–18 32 January 7 @ Cleveland W 109–100 Richfield Coliseum 14–18 33 January 10 @ New York W 129–126 (OT) Madison Square Garden 15–18 34 January 12 Philadelphia L 92–95 Capital Centre 15–19 35 January 14 @ Detroit W 121–114 Pontiac Silverdome 16–19 36 January 15 Chicago W 93–90 Capital Centre 17–19 37 January 17 Atlanta W 96–78 Capital Centre 18–19 38 January 20 Seattle W 106–95 Capital Centre 19–19 39 January 22 Portland W 110–97 Capital Centre 20–19 41 January 23 @ Kansas City W 109–106 (OT) Kemper Arena 21–19 41 January 26 Chicago W 94–84 Capital Centre 22–19 42 January 28 New York L 98–102 Capital Centre 22–20 All-Star Break
February: 5–8 (home: 2–4; road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 February 2 Cleveland L 99–100 Capital Centre 22–21 44 February 3 @ Philadelphia L 96–122 The Spectrum 22–22 45 February 5 Los Angeles L 87–90 Capital Centre 22–23 46 February 7 Denver L 115–124 Capital Centre 22–24 47 February 9 @ San Antonio W 112–110 HemisFair Arena 23–24 48 February 10 @ Dallas W 119–102 Reunion Arena 24–24 49 February 13 @ Houston L 104–111 The Summit 24–25 50 February 16 @ Portland W 100–97 Memorial Coliseum 25–25 51 February 18 @ Seattle L 87–105 Kingdome 25–26 52 February 20 @ Golden State L 102–110 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 25–27 53 February 23 Utah L 106–113 Capital Centre 25–28 54 February 26 Kansas City W 100–98 Capital Centre 26–28 55 February 28 New York W 113–109 (OT) Capital Centre 27–28
March: 10–7 (home: 6–3; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 56 March 2 New Jersey L 124–130 (2OT) Capital Centre 27–29 57 March 5 @ Denver L 126–127 McNichols Sports Arena 27–30 58 March 6 @ Utah W 127–113 Salt Palace Acord Arena 28–30 59 March 9 Phoenix L 95–103 Capital Centre 28–31 60 March 12 Indiana W 110–105 Capital Centre 29–31 61 March 13 @ New York W 109–99 Madison Square Garden 30–31 62 March 14 Atlanta W 92–85 Capital Centre 31–31 63 March 16 Boston L 97–98 (OT) Capital Centre 31–32 64 March 17 @ Philadelphia L 93–102 The Spectrum 31–33 65 March 19 San Diego W 108–98 Capital Centre 32–33 66 March 21 New York W 110–109 Capital Centre 33–33 67 March 23 @ Atlanta L 87–107 The Omni 33–34 68 March 24 @ Indiana W 114–106 Market Square Arena 34–34 69 March 26 New Jersey W 104–88 Capital Centre 35–34 70 March 28 @ Cleveland W 104–101 Richfield Coliseum 36–34 71 March 30 Detroit W 127–98 Capital Centre 37–34 72 March 31 @ Boston L 109–119 Boston Garden 37–35
April: 6–4 (home: 3–1; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 73 April 2 @ New Jersey L 96–98 Brendan Byrne Arena 37–36 74 April 3 @ Atlanta L 101–106 The Omni 37–37 75 April 6 Cleveland W 94–85 Capital Centre 38–37 76 April 7 @ Indiana W 97–85 Market Square Arena 39–37 77 April 9 @ Chicago W 114–98 Chicago Stadium 40–37 78 April 10 Milwaukee W 115–114 Capital Centre 41–37 79 April 13 @ Milwaukee W 109–99 MECCA Arena 42–37 80 April 14 @ New Jersey L 94–98 Brendan Byrne Arena 42–38 81 April 16 Philadelphia L 96–100 Capital Centre 42–39 82 April 18 Atlanta W 99–96 Capital Centre 43–39
1981–82 schedule

Playoffs

1982 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 20 @ New Jersey W 96–83 Jeff Ruland (18) Jeff Ruland (20) Frank Johnson (11) Brendan Byrne Arena 14,015 1–0 2 April 23 New Jersey W 103–92 Kevin Grevey (23) Rick Mahorn (11) Frank Johnson (9) Capital Centre 19,035 2–0
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 1–4 (home: 0–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 25 @ Boston L 91–109 Spencer Haywood (17) Greg Ballard (9) Frank Johnson (6) Boston Garden 15,320 0–1 2 April 28 @ Boston W 103–102 Johnson, Haywood (26) Jeff Ruland (10) Frank Johnson (8) Boston Garden 15,320 1–1 3 May 1 Boston L 83–92 Spencer Haywood (19) Rick Mahorn (14) Frank Johnson (8) Capital Centre 15,035 1–2 4 May 2 Boston L 99–103 (OT) Spencer Haywood (28) Rick Mahorn (10) Frank Johnson (7) Capital Centre 16,295 1–3 5 May 5 @ Boston L 126–131 (2OT) Jeff Ruland (33) Jeff Ruland (13) Frank Johnson (10) Boston Garden 15,320 1–4
1982 schedule

Awards and records

• Gene Shue, NBA Coach of the Year Award
• Bob Ferry, NBA Executive of the Year Award
• Jeff Ruland, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team